Do You Have A Good Author Tagline?

 

What is your tagline, catchphrase, or slogan, dear author?   

Authors need one sentence to summarize their writing brand. Yes, just a few precious words strung together in the right order can help you create an image of your latest book that draws readers to you. Can you do it? 

Authors are great at writing tens of thousands of words to tell a story. Can they say something about that book or their writings in a dozen or fewer words? 

I often work with authors on their elevator speech. You know what I am talking about, that 30-second statement that you need to perfectly say whenever you are introduced to someone.  It might be said concisely in a matter of 150-180 words. This will launch another into a conversation about you and your book, seducing them into an engaging dialogue that lures them from being a spectator to a customer.  

So, from that, could you nail down something about you or your book in a sentence?   

You need a tagline.  

Yes, authors have taglines, just like these Fortune 500 brands:  

“Just do it!”

Nike  

“A diamond is forever.”

De Beers  

“Breakfast of champions.”

Wheaties  

“You have to be in it, to win it.”

Lotto  

“Start something priceless.”

Mastercard  

What’s my tagline? It is a little long but one sentence captures me perfectly:  

A nationwide leading book promoter of 30 years, he’s also a top-ranked, award-winning book marketing blogger.  

There are plenty of other taglines that I could use, such as:  

A passionate, successful, and award-winning book marketer who has helped thousands of authors, from first-time, self-published authors to best-selling ones.  

Or  

Successfully promoting and marketing thousands of authors to sell books, win awards, get published, gain fame, and change the world. 

Or 

Assertive New York book publicist of 30 years who advocates for — and teaches — authors to be wildly successful. 

Now, tell me yours!  

Don’t have one?

Never thought of it?

Not sure where to start?  

It is free — but very valuable. Start crafting your tagline now!  

How do you go about doing this, you wonder? 

Before I get to that, let me briefly state how a tagline is beneficial: 

It can appear anywhere and everywhere— on marketing materials such as a postcard, tweet, press release, email signature, business card, and website. It can be on the back cover of your book, in your Amazon description, or in your social media profile. 

It helps you to succinctly get at your core essence as a writer and define who you are and why one should be drawn to your book. 

It allows you to confidently and easily launch into a conversation with anyone. It should provoke discussion, draw a picture, evoke a feeling, spark a debate, conjure an image, make you laugh, or engage one’s curiosity.  

Ok, so now you know why you need one. Back to how to pen the perfect tagline.  

First, free-write about yourself. Write down things like writing style and your credentials. Perhaps there are unique or relevant personal or professional experiences that perfectly justify you writing your book. 

State the descriptive benefits one gets when they read your book. How will they feel? What skill or knowledge will they acquire— and what could that result in? Remember, the book is for others, not you. What will they enjoy as a result of entering your world? 

Look at the taglines or slogans of other writers. Borrow from others and shape these fragments of expression to become your own. 

Make the tagline or catchphrase something that makes sense and is easily understandable. If you make a reference to something archaic or that only a few would recognize, avoid it. The tagline should have an obvious and clear connection to your author brand and the book. 

Use action verbs and optimistic, forward-thinking phrases; avoid negative stuff or putting things in the past tense. 

Make your tagline easy to read, memorable, offering of a benefit, and inspiring with positive emotions evoked. 

The more you can say what others can’t, the closer you come to uncovering your unique selling proposition. But you can also take ownership of things others could easily say, too. 

So, to be clear, a tagline can be for you, as a writer, or for a specific book or series. 

The easiest thing for an author to do is work off of a checklist and then mix the answers up in s big soup bowl, and play around with s variety of combinations until one feels irresistibly right. 

Here is a quick checklist:

·         Genre that you write in

·         Writing style: pace, characters, voice

·         Setting of time and place

·         Plot or theme

·         Comparison to other established writers or books

·         Award-winning?

·         Best-selling?

·         Critically-acclaimed?

·         Unique personal experience that relates to the book?

·         Relevant professional experiences?

·         What will the reader learn or be able to do as a result?

·         What will the reader feel or how will he or she be changed or transformed? 

Do not be polite or conservative. Brag. Blow your whistle. Feel worthy of the attention.  

If you get this right, your tagline may resemble greatness, just like these gems: 

“Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.”

--State Farm 

“All the news that’s fit to print.”

--New York Times 

“Bethca can’t just eat one.”

--Lay’s 

“Designed for driving pleasure.”

--BMW 

“Got milk?”

--California Milk Processor Board 

“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

--Las Vegas Tourism Board 

“Think different.”

--Apple 

“Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.”

--M&M 

Taglines may change over time, evolving with your growth and success as a writer, so don’t feel that what you say today has to stay with you for life. Still, do your best to place yourself in the spotlight that you want to shine brightly on you.  

So, what’s your tagline? 

 

Please Contact Me For Help

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres.

 

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Book Publishing Expose For Authors From An Insider

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Interview With A Leading Book Marketer For Over 30 Years, Brian Feinblum

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2022/04/interview-with-leading-book-marketer.html

 

Do Authors Really Have A Marketing Budget Of Zero?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2022/04/do-authors-really-have-marketing-budget.html

 

Are There Alternative Methods To Marketing A Book?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2022/03/are-there-alternative-methods-to.html

 

How Do Authors Get More Book Reviews?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2022/03/how-do-authors-get-more-book-reviews.html

 

What Should You Do To Promote Your Book?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2022/01/what-should-you-do-to-promote-your-book.html

 

Ask Me Anything About Book Marketing

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/12/ask-me-anything-about-book-marketing.html

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2022. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This blog, with over 4,000 posts over the past decade, was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Susan RoAne, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, IBPA, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.